ABSTRACT
In cities around the world, urban agriculture, considered here as both intra-urban and peri-urban agriculture, plays an increasingly important role in making cities more sustainable and better fed. By growing food, the urban poor can reduce household food expenses and generate additional income, thereby enhancing food security and reducing poverty. However, urban agriculture requires increased fi nancial and political legitimacy if it is to continue developing as a productive force. While political support for urban agriculture has been steadily increasing, fi nancial support for urban growers has been more limited. Most urban agricultural producers lack access to credit and, at the same time, the few fi nancial systems in place do not fi t well into urban farmers’ needs, expectations and capabilities. Information about such schemes is also scarce. Little is known about how urban producers fund their activities and about how credit and investment interventions around the world could benefi t large numbers of producers. Existing literature on fi nancing urban agriculture is scarce, and refers essentially to credit systems for market-orientated urban agriculture in North America and, to a lesser extent, Europe.
